In North America, romance novels are the most popular literary genre, comprising almost 55% of all paperback books sold. According to The Daily Mail, sales of Young Adult and New Adult Romance Novels jumped almost 150 per cent in just six years. Figures compiled by Neilsen Book Scan are even more dazzling: In 2014 more than 3 million books in the category were sold, compared to only 981,000 in 2006! Whereas it is estimated that women buy up to 90% of all adult romance books, Young Adult and New Adult romance books have managed to attract a considerable number of male readers.

As a genre, Young Adult and New Adult Romance hasn’t changed much over the years, because neither has the subject matter that appeals to the readers.

The reason that romance is such an eye-catching genre, is because of the heart pounding thrills that drive the story. The road blocks, obstacles, and struggles that each of the characters must face to develop the love between them is an emotional trip that any reader would love to explore.

The various sub genres: young adult, new adult and adult romance, are largely determined by the protagonists’ age and aims at drawing readers in by having the main characters struggle through the same emotional issues as the reader before gaining the love which they set out for.

The common theme in these novels are young people turning into adults and discovering love and the responsibilities of life.

Typically, the main character in these books is a late teenage or early tween heroine who is trying to figure out who she is and wanting to fit in and be noticed. In the process, she is struggling with her emotions, and often getting into conflict with her environment.

In the New Adult Romance Novels, the life phase focused on generally moves from an high school environment to college and transition to work. Paranormal elements appear less frequently and, if they do, are less important. Instead, the emphasis is on a more mature sexual experience and / or deeper psychological analysis and description.

Inter racial and same sex relationships, as well as more controversial topics including poverty, addiction, criminal behaviour, rape, abuse, domestic violence and personality disorders are addressed in some novels. Adults used to be ashamed of admitting that they are reading Young Adult and New Adult Romance Novels. But not so anymore!

Young adult fiction, thankfully, has conquered the literary recognition it deserves. And It’s not just children who are reading these books! Industry experts estimate more than a third of them are actually bought by adults.

It’s no surprise these books are finding a growing audience: there are countless amazing young adult and new adult novels to choose from, and with promising novels coming out every month, chances are that once you have found one series you enjoyed, you too will return for more.

There are plenty of good reasons why adults love these books.

Actually, young adults often feel embarrassed to confess that they are reading Young Adult or New Adult books, whereas more adult readers have come to accept and appreciate the reasons why they love reading this kind of novels:

– There is something endearing, fresh, compelling and innocent about young love that makes it irresistible. Stories about young love are about starting the path towards becoming yourself. They are open minded, unpretentious, have a strong sense of hope, and take us to a period in life where imagination still reigns and cynicism isn’t present yet.

– The characters are easily relatable: the main character’s behavioural traits and goals mostly are clear from a very early stage in the story, allowing readers to communicate more openly, honestly and candidly with them than is possible in most adult novels.

– Since the theme is universal, we can draw from what is happening in the story and learn from the characters’ behaviour and growth how to conquer problems in our own life.

– The stories have a clear plot: generally, you know what to expect when you start reading.

In Young Adult novels, the protagonist, who is usually female, is going through a rough period and meets a bad boy. As the story evolves, a good boy enters the story and with time, she discovers that she’s in love with him. But there are obstacles to overcome and misunderstandings to clear before the pair of them finally become an item and their love is accomplished.

In New Adult novels, though the story is basically the same, you are likely to find more explicit sex scenes, thought monologues and flashbacks. Also, since the characters are usually older here, elements from their personal history may return on stage and complicate the plot.

– The first cut is the deepest. Teenagers have this capacity to love unconditionally. Their life is filled with new emotions, new perspectives, new dreams and new experiences and every decision has the potential of creating a totally different future. Because they are about a phase in life when everything is new and felt more intense, also the drama is more intense in Young and New Adult novels.

– To some adults, reality is a disappointment. They want to experience true love and, live all these emotions and believe in a happily ever after, but often can’t. Reading about it is the next best thing and has the power to turn every day into a love story.

Young Adult and New Adult Romance Stories are exciting and interesting because the reader knows they almost always end with a positive outcome. In general, good people who believe in and fight for their relationship will likely be rewarded, which offers hope and feeds optimism.

– Teens and young twens are still at the outskirts of society. They aren’t really part of the system yet, which allows them to revolt and kick ass. As such, they remind us of our own ideals, which makes it easy to feel empathy for the characters and be empowered by them. Watching them grow and learn from their mistakes, makes us reconnect with our younger self, which makes the characters easy to root for.

– Parents and teachers may choose to read Young Adult and New Adult books to stay connected to their children or students.

– The novels provide an opportunity for escapism: There is nothing that makes you feel better than reading about people who become happy. You also know that any emerging problem can be easily solved by reading the story all the way to the end.

– Young Adult and New Adult Romance Stories are inspiring and empowering. In the life of a teen, every new event and decision has the capacity of creating new perspectives for a totally different future. In considering the possible consequences of the main characters’ decisions, we enter a world with new morals and new choices that invite us to consider applying them to our own daily actions.

– They are good adventures, because traditionally the hero and heroine fall in love very soon, but have to conquer a lot of opposition and go through a roller-coaster of experiences and emotions before finally finding love in each other’s arms.

Have you ever looked back at your life and noticed you remember it in segments defined by the relationship you were in? If you did, I’d like to recommend you some of the more unconventional Young and New Adult Romance Novels.

Amongst them, the “Young Love” series definitely is amongst my favourites. If you’re done with romance stories that rely on princes, werewolves or dark secrets, than here is a set of refreshing contemporary New Adult Romance Stories about ordinary people that deal with love, loss and growing up.

Sean’s high school phase was determined by Katherine. Though Katherine wasn’t his first girlfriend, she definitely defines as his first love: the person and relationship all later significant persons and relationships in his life are compared to.

A difficult relationship.

In the first novel, Young Love Part1: A Schoolyard Love Story, Sean and Katherine fall in love. Theirs is never an easy relationship. When Katherine doesn’t agree with his life style, he realizes he will lose her unless he drastically changes his behaviour. His desire to please Katherine forces him to start looking at himself, other persons and events in his life with new eyes. Nothing he does however can save their relationship from capsizing. When the relationship becomes a threat to her studies and understanding with parents and teachers, Katherine still ditches him. Since Katherine keeps repeating that the break up is only temporary and that she can’t imagine life without him, he starts out very optimistic about his chances to win her back. Soon however, he discovers that broken things have sharp edges and that trying to fix them can be very painful.

Young Love, A schoolyard love story, is a refreshing high school romance set in Europe, Flanders, in the early seventies of the previous century with a total lack of stereotyping, that has it all: it’s witty, bittersweet, touching and rich in culture and history. The story depicts all the uncertainties and overpowering emotions that come with true young love in a most original and genuine way.

Readers will appreciate the realistic depiction of the tortured hero’s psychological struggle after the heroine ends the relationship, especially when it becomes clear that both young people remain drawn to each other anyway and struggle to regain their balance during the rest of the school year.

Dealing with loss and struggling with growing up

In the second novel, Young Love Part2: First Love’s Shadow, Sean tries to move on with his life. After some time, Katherine asks him to reunite. But she ads a condition: “Until the end of the school year only”. Sean would go to the end of the world to date Katherine again, but the added condition makes it obvious to him that Katherine’s view of what they mean to each other is very different from his own. But maybe, once they go together again, Katherine will change her mind and not keep him to the expiration date she is putting forward? Are second chances really possible? Can recreating the past help the young couple to create a different future? And is Sean even willing to accept her terms?

In this imaginative, surprising and complex page-turner, which will certainly appeal to all fans of young adult and new adult romance novels, the author has brought a vivid, clever and heartfelt portrayal of what it’s like to be a teenager in love. “Young Love Part 2, First Love’s Shadow” is a gripping story in which the distance between lost and found is often less than a text line long.

Relatable and no nonsense

The success of the books is due to their simple, yet intricate storyline. This, in fact, is the kind of situation many young people go through. Young love, the loss of love, the internal struggle and the continued search for love are all captured beautifully in these novels, allowing readers to easily identify with the story’s main characters.

Life (especially life as a teenager) is rough at times, and novels offer the greatest of sanctuaries from reality. As I met and came to love people like Sean and Katherine, I realized that these novel characters do not only inspire us, but also remind us of the fact that we are not alone in our experiences.

Reference

In his Young Love novels, Dean Amory chronicles the hero’s life through the thrills, heartbreaks, joy and despair of the final years in high school and the consecutive transition to a labour environment.

YOUNG LOVE is a wonderful contemporary romance. Dean Amory does an excellent job at at giving us humor and characters that have depth, and portraying love, heartbreak and fate in this great coming-of-age story. He gives us the thoughts and musings of young adults, and shows us that in a world seemingly without a cure, there is always hope in one form or another.

Dean Amory is a master at writing characters that come alive on the page. The emotional tension between Sean and Katherine is beautifully written. You really get a good sense of what both characters are feeling. The sweetness of young love. The anguish of regret. The sadness of time lost. Not only did I fall in love with Sean and Katherine, but I really enjoyed watching Sean struggle to become the person he wanted to be and remain honest and consequent, even when his decisions came with an obvious cost.

I don’t know about you, but I totally love high school romance stories, especially when they involve young people trying to become the best they can. I highly recommend this book. It’s a wonderful read, and it leaves you with a sigh and a smile.

Dean Amory, real name Edgard (Eddy) Adriaens, was born 21.09.1953 in the Flemish city of Aalst. After finishing high school, he worked at a few local SMEs as a correspondent and assistant (sales) executive. In 1986 he was recruited by Bacob Bank, and started as a relationship manager. After the bank’s merger with the Dexia Bank, he moved on to be an Electronic Banking Expertise Officer at Dexia, later renamed Belfius bank.

Are you an author who has a book that you would like to see published? If you are, you should know that you do have a number of different options. While the most common approach taken involves relying on a third party publishing house, you do also have the option of self-publishing your own book.

When an author makes the decision to self-publish a book, he or she has complete control over the whole process. In fact, that is just one of the many pros or plus sides to self-publishing, as many authors like having complete control over their works of art. As for the responsibility of an author in terms of self-publishing, an author must write the book, edit it, find a company to manufacturer the printed book, and sell it. Although the process does seem relatively easy to most, it is important to remember that there are a number of pros and cons to self-publishing.

As it was previously stated, a self-publisher is responsible for the sale of their book. For many this is a difficult process. When a third party publishing house is used, they take on most of the work associated with selling a book, such as marketing. This is not how self-publishing works. Many self-publishers set up websites where they list their books available for sale. Even then, however, that website must be marketed so that visitors will find it. Self-publishers also have the option of approach retailers, including bookstores, hoping to get their books available for sale locally.

Another con or downside to self-publishing is the cost. Technically, you could say that even when using a third party publishing house, you still pay for the cost of getting your book published. This is because your publisher does take a fee out of the amount of money that you are paid; however, many authors don’t even take this cut into consideration. Even though it will cost money to have your book transformed into print, there are steps that you can take to reduce the cost. The most common approach involves having your book printed on demand, instead of having books on hand.

As previously stated, some self-publishers find it difficult to sell their books. Yes, this process can be difficult, but many other self-published authors have seen success. When you put the proper amount of time, research, and energy into selling a self-published book, you stand the most chance of making the biggest profit. This is because, aside from the cost of your expenses, you are able to retain all of your profits. There is no one else that must share your profits, unless of course you decide to hire help.

Another pro or plus side to self-publishing is the fact that unknown authors are given the opportunity to shine. Some of the best selling books today are written by authors who already have an established history or name. In fact, unless you have an absolutely amazing book or a well-known name, there is a good chance that many publishing companies will not want to take a chance on you. This doesn’t mean that your book is a poorly written one or that it has a bad story line. It just means that the publishing market is a tough one.

One of the biggest signs that self-publishing may be right for you if you believe that you have a book that will sell, but you still receive multiple rejection letters from well-known publishing houses. Self-publishing is also an ideal approach for authors who write books that will sell, but books that only have a limited targeted marketed. For example, if you are interested in writing a book on your city or town, your targeted market may be quite small and publishers may not want to take a chance with that.

Since there are a number of pros and cons to self-publishing, you should take the time to decide if self-publishing is right for you. Additional research can help you determine if self-publishing is truly your best option.

I am larry lakes and I am new to writing articles. I like play tennis when I can and want to get better at writing. I live in dallas,texas. I am 52 years old and married for 12 years.

It’s fun, of course, all these stories about vampires and werewolves. But, seriously, haven’t you done with these artificial thrills yet? Imagine yourself as the lead character in the story: Wouldn’t you prefer an honest, ordinary boyfriend or girlfriend without paranormal gifts, mega rich parents or distant uncles, criminal record or dark secrets? isn’t life-as-it-is complex and uncertain enough?

Stories that actually sound believable

Stories you can believe in and easily relate to, such is exactly what you will find in Dean Amory’s Young Love Novels Part 1, A Schoolyard Love Story and Part 2, First Love’s Shadow: Young Love has something irresistible, innocent and endearing and knows such deep emotions, that there is no need for surrogates. In Dean Amory’s Young Love stories, you will recognize the unique rhythm that echoes the cadence and energy of youth and all the uncertainties and overpowering emotions that come with true young love. The genuine underlying pulse will quickly capture your imagination and the unique approach will allow you to look at YOUNG LOVE from a rarely exploited angle, which is the young man’s perspective.

These are two authentic and original high school romance novels that have it all: they will take you back to life at a high school in Flanders, Europe in the early seventies. In a setting like this, your parents may have tried to deal with their first love experiences, or – if you are an older reader – you may recognize yourself and start wondering what became of that pretty, witty school girl you dated at the time.

Young Love, part 1: “A Schoolyard Love Story”: The Eternal Love that Didn’t Last

“Young Love part 1, A school Yard Love Story”, introduces 17 year old Sean and Katherine. The two instantly fall in love when they first meet at the start of the new school year. Their relationship is very intense right from the start. Soon Katherine realises that Sean’s reputation and the depth of their bond risks to undermine her studies and disrupt the good understanding with her teachers and parents, Katherine feels she should break up, but cannot.

After what probably was the most beautiful evening shared together, Katherine becomes really afraid that she will engage herself too much and dumps Sean. At first, both young people try to get on with their life, but soon it becomes clear that, if going together was complicated, letting go of each other seems to be impossible.

Katherine asks Sean to wait for her until they finish school. But Sean doesn’t believe this is possible and tries to create more distance between them. However, he remains drawn to Katherine and being in the same classroom with Katherine makes it impossible to ignore her.

Young Love, part 2: “First Love’s Shadow”: Getting on With Life

Dean Amory, author of the critically acclaimed coming of age novel “Young Love, A Schoolyard Love Story”, returns with a poignant, striking sequel that skilfully captures the singular experience of being a teenager: “Young Love, First Love’s Shadow”. Dean Amory chronicles the hero’s life through the thrills, heartbreaks, joy and despair of the final year in high school and the consecutive transition to a labour environment.

“Young Love Part 2, First Love’s Shadow” begins with Sean working at a seaside resort during the summer holiday. Freed from Katherine’s presence, he gets to know new people and falls in love again.

Two months go by quickly though, and back at school he soon discovers how difficult it is to maintain a normal relationship with Katherine, whom he still feels attracted to. Things become more difficult even when Katherine realizes that she is losing touch with him and asks to reunite.

Her invitation doesn’t come without conditions, which forces Sean to reflect on the way the both of them are looking at what they are really sharing.

“Young Love Part 2, First Love’s Shadow” is a gripping story that highlights the uncertainties that characterize young people’s life.

Self-published authors are always looking for inexpensive ways to improve their book marketing efforts. If you are on a limited budget, then your number one priority should be to focus on obtaining reviews on Amazon. In addition to book sales, positive reviews can help boost your standing in the Amazon sales ranking system, especially in the advanced search function that includes an “average customer review” option.

Additionally, once you receive 20 reviews and an average rating of four stars or better, you can potentially qualify for the marketing promotions available on BookBub and other author-friendly websites.

Reviews on Amazon are hard to acquire for new authors, so it’s important to grease the wheels and give yourself every advantage. It’s important to remember that friends and family may be reluctant to review your book publicly for fear of exposing their lack of writing skills. Instead, you may find more success tapping into social media and running book promotions to try and encourage review activity.

Many self-published writers groups on Facebook can serve as a forum to advertise your book and also solicit reviews. There is nothing morally or ethically wrong for two authors to agree to exchange honest reviews of their respective books. Using this method can help increase your review count and also establish mutually beneficial relationships with other self-published authors. It’s relatively easy to contact another author in a Facebook group.

Promotions are another way to receive reviews. If you run a free giveaway on Goodreads for example, you might try including a personal note asking the winner to give you a positive review if they enjoyed your book.

The Hidden Author was designed to harness the collective purchasing power of the self-published author community. As part of their membership agreement, author/members are required to provide four reviews of books listed on the website. Since these reviews are crafted by other authors, they tend to be well-written and professional. Since only author/members can submit reviews, readers can be assured of the authenticity of the review process.

Of course, author/members are encouraged to post their review on Amazon as well. Better sales and more reviews will help your self published book gain visibility and a higher ranking on Amazon.

The Hidden Author is a marketing resource for self-published authors and those looking for a great book at a good price.

No doubt, you’ve been attracted by the title, but the first disclaimer is that although this is possible, some books will take far longer. Some books may be bubbling around in your head for months (years even), and then when the time is right – you could get it all down on paper in days. In an interview, Harry Potter author J K Rowling said she had literally the whole idea, 7 books, plot outline and characters from beginning to end during a train journey from London to Scotland – so anything is possible.

This article is to help the budding writers, who are looking for some inspiration and encouragement, but just aren’t too sure of where / how to start.

If writing a book is on your ‘to do’ list, (and you want to do this quickly), I may be stating the obvious, but the first thing you really need to do, is CLEAR A CHUNK OF TIME if possible, to be able to write undisturbed. Now, everyone is different. Writing from dusk till dawn may suit you, or writing for ‘4 hours’ a day may be better… either way – step one is to make time for the writing. Understand when you are at your creative best and aim to write at that time.

Have an outline plan. Decide what your chapter titles will be. Decide what content is to go into each chapter, and then start writing. This will give you some structure and guidance.

If you have lots of ideas – but each idea onto a sticky note, on a wall, divide the chapters up and place the sticky note into the correct chapter. This is one method to help you to organise the ideas in your head. Get them out of your head, onto paper, and into the right chapter.

Set a timetable. You may want to aim for ‘1 chapter a day’ or something – to keep you to a deadline, and on track.

Get a writing buddy. If you are lucky enough to have a friend enrolled in your cause, promise them ‘one chapter a day’ and they may read it for you as you go along, and give you feedback. This can encourage you to write, if you *KNOW* someone is waiting for the content. If you don’t have this, see if there is someone who can hold you accountable to your own deadlines. Maybe a writers group?

If you are writing a factual book,(maybe on a topic that you’ve given previous talks / presentations on) then you may well find that you could already have 60-80% of your material already! Your ‘job’ is to then organise this material into a book format, which isn’t as daunting a task as actually creating something from scratch.

Business owners who want to write a book have this advantage. If your material is one which is already in written format – then you’ll be at an advantage if you wish to write a book.

And remember, a book could be ‘60’ pages… it doesn’t have to be ‘a novel’. It could be fairly short. It could be an ‘introduction to’ or a ‘step by step guide’ – (which lots of pictures), it doesn’t necessarily have to be dense text.

For further ideas and inspiration, there is an online book writing course: https://www.udemy.com/writeabook/

Lisa Newton author, business owner and entrepreneur gives us hints and tips on book writing! Check out our course or follow us on twitter @booglez_books